Posture begins in Lengthened Spine

Studying Z-Health functional applied neurology, I have learned more about balance and the brain than I had ever imagined.  The brain determines not only how we move through life but also how we see, balance and think.  This information is so good, I have to share tidbits that will help you move better, balance better and see better.

Today I am going to talk to you about posture. Posture is a reflex and posture is controlled up to seventy (70) percent by your vision!  Wow, think about those two statements for a minute.  Posture is reflexive. And posture is driven by your vision.

The Fall Prevention Lady's Lengthened Spine Demo

First, posture is a reflex.  For those people (and I used to train people this way) who throw your shoulders back, stretch chest muscles, strengthen neck flexors, hold your head level and even get massages to reduce tension in upper back, you know that the minute you walk out of the training session, your posture goes back to the way it was when you walked in.

That's because posture is reflexive.  In other words, your brain is focused on a level horizon and despite life circumstances (accidents, bumps and bruises) and occupational hazards (poor posture from a desk job), your brain is going to keep the horizon level for balance purposes.

As a result, your head will tilt, bend and turn to keep vision level.  The body will adapt physically to whatever is necessary to keep the horizon level.  If you slouch your shoulders and stick your neck out all day to keep the computer screen level, then your body will adapt to forward head, shoulders slouched and whatever is necessary to keep the horizon level.

The scientific phenomena known as the SAID principle states that your body gets good at whatever you do, however you do it.  If you look at the floor while practicing your drills, you will get really good at doing drills while looking at the floor.  Look up and your balance won't be good.  Cracks me up when I see people wasting money on 'balance manuals' that demonstrate people staring at the floor while doing the drills.

If you want to improve your posture, your balance and your vision, I suggest that you get into lengthened spine.  I start all of my classes discussing how people are carrying their head on their shoulders.  The average skull weighs between 8-12 pounds.  When perfectly aligned, your vertebrae are aligned and the spinal cord is lengthened.  When the head is jutted forward, the neck muscles have extra strain and weight of the skull.

Let me explain how to attain lengthened spine since how you carry your head directly impacts your vision, balance, posture and strength.

Lengthened spine: Sit or stand tall; both feet on the floor facing forward, top of the back of your head extended up toward ceiling, chin level and tucked back.  Here's the kicker, tilt your front teeth SLIGHTLY down toward collar bone.   NOT EXCESSIVELY but down where you see a level horizon.   Keep your chin tucked back and yes, you now have a double chin but you're in lengthened spine!!!!

Every time you so much as think about your posture, get into lengthened spine and keep your eyes on a vertical target in front of you at eye level.  Practice lengthened spine for every vision drill and try to maintain lengthened spine during balance challenges and all dynamic joint movement drills.

Posture begins with your eyes and is a reflex to life's imbalances.  In my classes, I teach vision drills, balance drills and movement drills designed to activate the parts of your brain that crave activation in order to move well, balance well and see well.

It all starts in lengthened spine; shoulders are down, chest is lifted, pretend you have a string on the back of your head lifting toward the ceiling, your chin is slightly down, and your eyes are focused on a vertical target at eye level....NOT AT THE FLOOR.

Do this exercise throughout the day. Anytime your even think about your posture, immediately get into lengthened spine.  Your spine and your posture will thank you.  So will your brain.

YOUR PARENTS AND FALL PREVENTION

My mom, who lives in Pennsylvania, is visiting me this week out here in California and we've been busy!  I have only seen my mom once in the past 6 years so we've been chatting, sightseeing, and hanging out.  Actually, she came here to inspire, encourage and counsel her youngest daughter as I embark on my Take 5 to Exercise fall prevention DVD business, and there's nothing better than mom!  

I have aged and so has my mom.   Like mother, like daughter, my mom remains active and eats healthy which keeps her in great shape.   She is a little rounder, has a little more grey but she's just as sassy as ever!  Since her daughter is the "Fall Prevention Lady", she felt comfortable asking me about her hip pain.  "It feels like it pops out," she said when I asked her why she was limping early one morning. 

After assessing her movement patterns, I recognized an ailment common to ladies in their early 60s.  My mom has hip issues that can be corrected by a simple stretching and strengthening program.  Specifically, her hip abductors are weak and her hip adductors are tight.  Her hip pops when she walks because her hip stabilizers are weak.   This imbalance, plus a super tight piriformis, pulls on her pelvis, causing her knees to bow outward when she squats. I have to say that she was all over the place when I had her stand at balance threshold !!!

Like most people who do not practice balance and/or resistance training, her hip stabilizer muscles are weak but since my mom was a cheerleader in high school and excelled in gymnastics, she is aware of her body movements and quickly responded to my verbal cues.  With consistent practice, she can correct her muscular imbalance, reduce her hip pain and prevent further disability.   

My mom walks 2 miles a day, 5 days a week but she quickly realized that is not enough.  Yes, she is healthy but if she ignored the hip pain and just kept on walking, not strengthening the weak muscles while stretching the tight ones, her pain would become progressively worse while her independence would be increasingly compromised.  

       The moral of my blog:  if you have nagging pains, unusual hip, leg, foot or back pains, please visit a professional.   Nagging pains only get worse when left untreated.  Baby boomers, those 50 and older, are beginning to develop what has become known as boomeritis.    Become aware of boomeritis now so you can continue to live the quality of life you have worked so hard to achieve.

Do what I did and give your mom a 5-day set of my Take 5 to Exercise Fall Prevention DVD series so she can start learning the basics about movement as well as how to stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak ones.  Remember,  you're never too old, or too young to benefit from consistent exercise.  Imbalance leads to compromise and compromise leads to sacrifice.  Don't sacrifice the quality of life you deserve.

Love your mom,

The Balance Enhancement Specialist.